Dietary Supplement Prevents Clot Formation

A popular dietary supplement looks like it may prove to be a potent treatment for the prevention and treatment of stroke and heart attack, as well as deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism. Robert Flaumenhaft, MD, PhD, an investigator in the Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues studied the effects of rutin (a citrus flavonoid glycoside found naturally in buckwheat, asparagus, citrus fruits and certain berries) on a mouse model of thrombosis. Results showed that rutin was able to inhibit both platelet accumulation and fibrin generation during thrombus formation. This is important as blood clots that occur in arteries are platelet-rich, while those that occur in veins are fibrin-rich. The fact that rutin was shown to inhibit platelet accumulation and fibrin generation suggests that it could treat and prevent both types of clots. Furthermore, rutin was the most potently anti-thrombotic compound that the group had ever tested in this particular mouse model. "A safe and inexpensive drug that could reduce recurrent clots could help save thousands of lives," said Flaumenhaft. "Because the FDA has already established that rutin is safe, we are poised to expeditiously test this idea in a clinical trial, without the time and expense required to establish the safety of a new drug."